"I'm astonished at your question," he replied. "You ought to know that this is still Witch Lane for all the old families, in spite of the fact that it is known, officially, as Smith Street. I have yet a very distinct recollection of Miss Patty's lamentations over the change. That was ten years ago, when Sally first arrived."
Mrs. Ladue laughed. She would have laughed at anything that morning.
"But, do you mind telling me where we are going?"
"I can't tell you exactly, as I am not very familiar with the country here. I know where I am going," he explained hastily, "but I doubt if I could tell you. We shall come to the end of the built-up part pretty soon, and then it takes us out into the country. There'll be a turn or two, and what I want you to see is about two miles out. Mr. Morton," he added, "put a horse at my service, and I have been exploring. I have not wasted my time."
Mrs. Ladue made no reply. She was happy enough, without the need of speech. They drove on, past the built-up part, as Fox had said, past more thinly scattered houses, with little gardens, the corn-stubble already beginning to show above the snow, here and there, for it had been thawing. Then they began to pass small farms, and then, as they made the first of the turn or two, the farms were larger, and there were rows of milk-cans on their pegs in the sun.
Suddenly Mrs. Ladue laughed. "Now I know where I am," she exclaimed. "That is, I remember that Uncle John Hazen brought me out here one day, nearly two years ago. He wanted to show me something, too."
Fox turned and looked at her. "That is interesting," he said. "I wonder if he showed you the same place that I am going to show you."
Mrs. Ladue only smiled mysteriously; and when, at last, Fox stopped his horse and said "There!" she was laughing quietly. He looked puzzled.
"The same," she said. "The very same."
"Well," Fox replied slowly, "I admire his taste. It is worth looking at."